With Ant-Man, the summer of Marvel is complete. I suppose I should clarify that this summer of Marvel, 2015, is complete, since it looks like Marvel intends to dominate every summer from now until at least 2018. What Marvel has completed, is what they refer to as “Phase 2,” the second wave of films in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU). “Phase 1” began with Iron Man and concluded with The Avengers, introducing each character and then bringing them together. “Phase 2” began with Iron Man 3 and concludes not with the giant spectacle of Avengers: Age of Ultron from May, but with a small, charismatic heist film, introducing a brand new hero, and peppering in its larger references and MCU cameos. Ant-Man‘s opening weekend reflects the type of release this was for Marvel. The numbers were huge, and it took the #1 spot, but they weren’t Avengers-huge.
Ant-Man is the type of movie that belongs in “Phase 1.” It has the most in common with the original Iron Man, relying on the charisma and charm of its lead actor to carry the film. But this is exactly the kind of movie that you only trust Marvel to make at the end of “Phase Two.” If Ant-Man came out just after Iron Man, we would have laughed it away. But Marvel has proven, especially after Guardians of the Galaxy, that they can take just about any comic book property and make it a hit. Ant-Man is no different. Marvel did the work, as usual, to assemble an amazing cast (Michael Douglass, Evangeline Lilly, Judy Greer, Michael Pena, Corey Stoll) around their unlikely superstar (Paul Rudd), and the results are thrilling, hysterical, and just plain fun.
What I liked most about Ant-Man is that it set its own tone distinct from the other Marvel films, and it was a much-needed breath of fresh air for this series. While the film does suffer from Marvel’s systemic “villain problem”— making the villain exactly like the hero except evil—its humor and its energy are different than any other Marvel film. The movie plays the chords of a heist movie more often than not, and its scale (the entire climax takes place in a child’s bedroom) allows for it to do it’s own thing. The humor is rarely as snarky or quick-witted as Robert Downey Jr.’s “Tony Stark” or the banter in Joss Whedon’s Avengers films, but is rather refreshingly silly and improvisational.
There’s beauty in the smallness, in the everyday. Again, we have to consider perspective, but for Marvel, Ant-Man is a small movie. And it’s exactly what the franchise needed in between Avengers 2 and Captain America: Civil War – which might as well be Avengers 2.5 since everyone is in it except Hulk and Thor. We needed a movie to remember that small stories: individual people, fathers, daughters, friends… they still matter even when The Avengers are out there fighting Hydra and A.I. robot armies and space-warlords.
It makes me think of that time in a church gathering when people share prayer requests – there is always this fascinating balance between people praying for huge issues, like war, global poverty, natural disasters, and people who are feeling a different weight, praying for their struggling marriage or a loved one who is sick. It’s a delicate interplay of needs big and small, and yet we do not question that the relationship between a father and a daughter is any less important or deeply valuable than the plight of the poor or the earth or our politics. Our communities uphold the sacredness of the small and the large, entrusting them to a God who shows up in silence and in thunder, in blinding light and in the thick of darkness.
Ant-Man is certainly not a meditation on finding grace in the ordinary, but its place in the MCU is a little reminder that smallness is valuable; to not miss the trees for the forest. It’s at its best when it remembers that it is small and unique, and loses its way when it tries too hard to fit into a mold it wasn’t made for. That, in itself, may be the film’s best lesson.
You might also find these reviews of Ant-Man helpful:
1 More Film Blog
Christianity Today
Decent Films
Hollywood Jesus
Reel Gospel
Reel World Theology
